[Globals]
AutoInstall=./newmods/
[Websters]
DataPath=./modules/texts/rawtext/websters/
ModDrv=RawText
Description=The Webster Bible
About= -=+* see the files 'intro.txt' and 'revision.txt' for more details *+=-\par\par \
\qc THE \par HOLY BIBLE, \par CONTAINING THE \par OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, \par IN THE \par \
COMMON VERSION. \par WITH \par AMENDMENTS OF THE LANGUAGE, \par \
BY NOAH WEBSTER, LL. D. \par\par ------------- \par NEW HAVEN: \par \
PUBLISHED BY DURRIE & PECK. \par \
Sold by HEZEKIAH HOWE & CO., and A. H. MALTBY, New Haven; \par \
and by N.&J. WHITE, New York. \par\par ------ \par 1833 \par\par \
Webster Bible Electronic Format.\par \
PUBLIC DOMAIN\par\par \
February 1992\par\par\pard \
Webster Biography:\par \
Noah Webster: America's first grammarian and founding father of American education.\par\par \
In 1828 Noah Webster published the 'American Dictionary of the English Language'. This \
dictionary demonstrates the Christian values which were found in America's educational \
and scholarly systems. It is from this early dictionary that we have todays popular \
'Webster Dictionary'. In 1833 Noah Webster, who had mastered 20 languages including \
Hebrew and Greek, published the King James Authorized Version 'with amendments to the \
language'. In stating his reasons for producing this version of the Bible, Webster said:\par\par \
'In the present version, the language is, in general, correct and perspicuous; \
... in many passages uniting sublimity with beautiful simplicity. In my view, the general \
style of the version ought not to be altered. But, in the lapse of two or three centuries, \
changes have taken place, which, in particular passages, impair the beauty; in others, \
obscure the sense, of the original languages. ... they do not present to the reader \
the Word of God. ... My principal aim is to remedy this evil.'\par\par \
It was with cautious reverence that Webster corrected misused grammar, removed offensive \
terms and expressions, and substituted commonly understood words for words that had fallen \
into disuse, or no longer carried the same meaning.\par\par\
In 1834, the year after completing the Webster Bible, Noah Webster wrote a \
companion piece titled 'Value of the Bible and Excellence of the Christian Religion - For \
the Use of Families and Schools'.\par\par\
Webster, who was considered 'The schoolmaster to a nation' and produced the \
earliest spellers and textbooks for America's school children, believed Christian religious \
values and American public education to be inseparable. He believed the Webster Bible to \
be 'the most important enterprise' of his life, and referred to the Bible as:\par\par \
'... the chief moral cause of all that is good, and the best corrector of all that \
is evil, in human society; the best book for regulating the temporal concerns of men, and \
the only book that can serve as an infallible guide to future felicity.'\par\par \
Introduction to the Electronic Format:\par \
Beginning in July of 1991 the task of placing the Webster Bible text in electronic \
format began. The original purpose was to provide Larry Pierce, who produces the \
On-Line Bible program, with a more modern *public domain* text, similar in content and \
style to the AV but with a grammar that would provide better comprehension in todays \
English.\par\par\
I plan on maintaining an accurate copy of the Webster text. Anyone finding an \
error should contact me; Anyone desiring to obtain the latest, most correct text, can find \
it on the Bible Foundation BBS, or can contact me in the following methods:\par \
Internet acus10@waccvm.corp.mot.com\par \
Home phone 602-829-8542\par \
Address Mark Fuller\par \
1129 East Loyola Drive\par \
Tempe Arizona, 85282\par \
Bible Foundation http://www.bf.org\par\par \
I would like to thank the Bible Foundation not only for scanning nearly the entire \
Webster Bible but for encouraging me to undertake this monumental work; particularly around \
page 20 when I realized what I had gotten myself into. Special thanks to Jerry Kingery of \
the Bible Foundation for scanning, and Jerry Hastings for doing some preliminary scan \
cleaning and making the texts available on the BBS.
